Seoul shares open higher on Samsung Electronics

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, backed by a bullish start of market behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. and chemical companies, analysts said.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.58 points, or 0.31 percent, to trade at 2,162.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading. 

Shares of Samsung Electronics, a global leader in smartphones and memory chips, jumped 1.07 percent, with LG Chem, a leading chemical firm, also soaring 1.6 percent. Samsung stocks account for more than 20 percent of the main index.

In contrast, financial stocks trended lower. Top life insurance firm Samsung Life Insurance fell nearly 1 percent, with KB Financial Group losing 1.6 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,112.30 won against the US dollar as of 9:15 a.m., up 0.5 won from Monday's close. (Yonhap)